


A Purr as Soft as Wind

by deliciously_devient



Series: The Stars Gleam Bright in Your Eyes [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BDSM, BDSM AU, Budding Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2014-10-28
Packaged: 2018-02-23 01:33:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2529104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deliciously_devient/pseuds/deliciously_devient
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony gets closer to the team, and maybe forgives himself a tiny bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Purr as Soft as Wind

Clint was suddenly Tony's best friend.

 

Where before, the archer and the genius had shared a gentle camaraderie that comes with saving each other's asses in highly dangerous situations regularly, but now...there was a softness to their relationship that hadn't been there before. Now, when Clint would have gone a bit too far in his teasing, instead he would look at Tony fondly, and ruffle the genius's hair.

 

Tony would, of course, squawk indignantly and bristle, but everyone, especially Clint, knew he was only pretending. If he was being totally, pathetically honest with himself, Tony relished each and every touch Clint and the others gave him. He could admit, if only to himself, that he was incredibly touch starved, and part of the reason he'd been such a slut in his earlier days was because he hadn't had any of that affection as a child.

 

Couch cuddles quickly became a thing with the team, after Tony and Clint had been caught snuggling by Bruce. The scientist, bleary eyed from hours in his lab bent over a microscope, and smelling heavily of sleep sub, had shoved himself between Clint and Tony, stealing half the blanket and shoving his cold nose in Tony's armpit, which made the genius squeal and laugh.

 

This became a habit over the next few weeks, Clint and Tony and Bruce cuddling with the biologist between them, Tony still wallowing in his subspace and reveling in the closeness of his friends. There was usually something inane playing on the big screen tv, mostly background noise as the three of them ate and talked softly to one another.

 

Natasha and Steve had walked in tonight to find the three of them cuddling with _Dog Cops_ playing on the tv , just back from a week long mission and both looking tired and smelling of gunpowder.

 

Natasha took one look of the three men on the couch, Bruce snoring softly between Clint and Tony, sniffed the scent of contented submissive, and stripped her catsuit right there and snuggled into Clint's space. Steve looked like he wanted to do the same, but he turned to leave, about to leave them to their devices.  
  


“Steve,” Tony said, before he could stop himself. “You can join us. There's plenty room.”

 

Steve blinked, looking shocked, as if he hadn't expected to be invited in, a hesitant, heartbreaking smile breaking out across his face. “Uh, okay. I just, I need a shower. But I'll be down, right away, I promise.”

 

Tony returned Steve's shy smile with a grin of his own, and stared at his ass as he left, licking his lips. If only he was worthy of that...

 

“Stop it,” Bruce mumbled, and Tony huffed a laugh as the man's breath tickled his armpit. “You're making it smell like horny sub.”

 

“Yeah, Stark, totally killing the vibe,” Clint grumbled, but there was a smile in his voice and Tony rolled his eyes. He shifted, curling into Bruce more and smiling. He felt more content on the couch just then than he had in years. He was still wallowing in subspace a bit, the fresh welts left by Jarvis' whip aching pleasantly. They'd hurt like a bitch in the morning, but he could deal with it; he always did.

 

Steve returned, just like he'd promised, and his hair was still damp against his head, and he looked...soft. He was dressed in pajama bottoms with pictures of each Avenger on them that Clint had given him as a gag gift on his birthday, and an oversized t-shirt. Tony smiled at him reassuringly, as the dom still looked hesitant at the cuddle pile. He patted the space beside him, opposite Bruce, and Steve filled the space beside him, holding himself sort of stiffly and not pressing in too close, which Tony fixed quickly with a discontented noise.

 

He pulled the larger man closer, making him sink into the couch cushions, and press into Tony's other side. The genius made a happy little noise; Steve was _warm,_ and he hadn't realized how cold his other side was until Steve's heat was pressing against him from shoulder to ankle.

 

“Now I know why you always want the middle, Brucie,” Tony said, slurring his words slightly, and doing something no one in the Tower had ever heard him do, including Jarvis. He purred, a rich, deep sound that resounded in his chest. It was something that everyone had the capability to do, particularly subs, and in the ensuing months since they'd become a team, they'd all heard each other's purrs.

 

Natasha's was soft, and often used just before she took a sparring partner to the mat, or took a mark out. It was a sound that inspired both affection and fear, something soft and deadly, like the whisper of a spider web. Bruce's was a light tenor, something usually heard just as he was falling asleep, or when he was deep into a project; the Hulk's was a deep sound that reverberated in everyone's chest, something rare and only heard when he felt safe. Clint's was high, almost a chirp, and was often an accompaniment to his laugh. Steve's, though rare, was a dark, rich sound, almost like chocolate. Thor's, when he revealed he could indeed purred, seemed to crackle with lightening, and always produced a small amount of static in hair.

 

This, however, was the first time any of them had heard Tony's purr; it melted over their ears, enhanced by the second set of vocal cords that all subs (and only subs) were born with, filled the small space of their little cuddle pile and relaxed a small tension none of them had known was there. Steve made a soft sound of surprise, and he might have scooted just a bit closer to Tony, assuming a rather protective position at the smaller man's shoulder. He started to purr as well, almost unconsciously, and soon the five of them were purring, the sound of it resonating in the small space.

 

Tony, apparently unaware of how he had affected the rest of them, or of how much he had just deepened their bond - _family, protect, pride_ ran through the minds of those assembled- snuggled his face into Steve's chest, his purring quieting slightly, his breath deepening. He was asleep, feeling safe and secure, something he didn't get to feel often.

 

**

 

Steve was in awe; there was no other word for what he was feeling just then, with Tony curled against his side, asleep and still purring softly, the rest of his team -minus Thor, who was off world, and it sent a soft, sad pang through him to be missing the god- purring softly as well. Tony had never purred in front of any of them, had never trusted them enough. Steve felt incredibly honored, and also so much closer to the genius.

 

He liked to think that he and Tony were good friends -he'd sought out the man after the battle of Manhattan to apologize, and subsequently came back for tutoring in technology, modern politics and movie recommendations- but he hadn't really felt close to the man until now.

 

He gently, hesitantly, ran his fingers through Tony's soft, messy hair. He paused when Tony shifted, but he only did so to nuzzle deeper into Steve's side, sighing softly in pleasure and Steve resumed petting him, a soft smile on his lips. He felt the stir of possessiveness in his chest again, one that had been plaguing him for the past few months, the stir that chanted  _mine, my sub, my pride,_ and he swallowed against the rush of emotion. Tony was his friend, and he wasn't going to sacrifice their relationship on unwanted attentions. 

 

He felt the burn of eyes on him, and he looked up from where he was watching Tony's relaxed sleeping face, to find both Natasha and Clint staring him down. He frowned slightly, wondering at the sharpness in Natasha's gaze, and the outright venom in Clint's. He wasn't sure what he had done to earn this vitriol, but it...stung. Much more than he would have expected.

 

“If you hurt him,” Natasha said softly, her gaze dark and a threatening purr in her tone. “It will only be fun for one of us.”

 

Steve opened his mouth to reply, but Clint cut him off. “Tony loves you,” he said bluntly. “He loves you, and he trusts you, and every single dom he's ever had has betrayed both of those things. If you add to that, I will end you.”

 

Steve blinked, feeling the anger that had been rising in his chest dissipate, and instead be replaced by warmth for his teammates at their willingness to threaten him, arguably one of the strongest of the team behind Bruce, in order to protect Tony. It was what a real Pride did; they came together around a Sub, and viciously protected them from any prospective dom, even ones they trusted.

 

He dipped his head once, acknowledging their threats, taking them to heart because he knew they meant it. He looked down at Tony's sleeping face, closed his eyes and listened to his soft purring, the gentle thump of his heart, before opening his eyes and looking at Clint and Natasha.

 

“I would give my life for his,” he vowed, the words ringing both with truth and the echoes of hundreds, thousands of other doms throughout the years who had vowed the same, and the two spies nodded, once, and returned to cuddling each other.

 

“If you hurt him, Hulk will smash you,” Bruce rumbled sleepily from where his face was buried in Tony's side, and Steve smiled, gently petting Bruce's head for a moment, grinning when the biologist arched into the touch, purr intensifying. Of them all, Bruce's threat scared him the most; mostly because threats from subs (Bruce was one at the moment, so it counted) were never, ever left unfulfilled.

 

Eventually, the cuddle pile broke apart, and Steve mourned the weight of Tony's warmth from his side, but didn't complain. Instead, he retreated to his floor, and got on his laptop in his bed, savoring the scent of Tony on his shirt. He knew that traditions had changed in the years he had been in the ice, but he knew that courting hadn't died out; it was just done a little differently, now, and he did thorough research into the subject.

 

Two days later, he felt armed enough to begin, and he hopped down to the workshop, a spring in his step, and watched for a moment as Tony fiddled with something on his workbench, before approaching. He knew Tony hadn't eaten yet today, and he was holding a largish plate full of finger foods. He made sure Tony saw him before he touched his shoulder, and smiled widely at Tony when the billionaire greeted him.

 

“Hungry?” he asked, and proffered a block of cheese -cheddar, which he knew was Tony's favorite- and was almost shocked when, instead of taking the morsel with his fingers, he nipped it right out of Steve's hand. He didn't seem to notice he'd done it, so Steve didn't react other than to offer a grape.

 

“What are you working on?” he asked curiously, staring at the mess of wires and metal plating in front of the genius. He offered a small bit of salami this time, once Tony was done chewing.

 

“Prosthesis,” Tony said through his mouthful, fingers nimble as they stitched wires together. “For Clint. I'm trying to make him better hearing aids that can be implanted, so they can't be taken from him, but they can still be turned off if he doesn't feel like hearing. I need to make a big model first so I can get Jarvis to manufacture the microscopic version.”

 

“Oh,” Steve said, feeling warmth bloom in his chest for the billionaire even further. He was so selfless and so giving, and he never saw that about himself. He proffered another bite, smiling when Tony accepted the morsel without looking this time. “I'm sure he'll love it.”

 

The rest of the morning went much like that, with Steve feeding the genius slowly as he worked, keeping him talking and eating until he shook his head at a grape. Most of the plate was gone, so Steve was sure Tony was really full, but he continued talking with the man. His voice was deep and resonate, and Steve could listen to him talk for hours.

 

He wasn't keeping track of the expression on his face, and Tony caught him staring, his face screwing up in confusion for a moment, before panic crossed it. Steve frowned in concern, and took a half step forward, unsure if he was welcome in Tony's space.

 

“Steve,” Tony said, and his voice was tight, dry, scared. “are you courting me?”

 

Steve blinked, and smiled hesitantly at the man, his brow wrinkled a bit. He wasn't sure why Tony was reacting like this, but he was sure it couldn't bode well. “Well...yeah. Is that...is that okay?” he asked, and his eyes were big and wide and sad, and he was already bracing himself for rejection, suddenly sure that when Clint had said Tony loved him he was lying.

 

He could get over this, he told himself. He was strong, and if Tony didn't want him, well...he'd deal with it. It would hurt, and it would take a while for him to start looking for someone else but he was a mature adult and-

 

“Yeah,” Tony said, and his voice was raw and his eyes looked wet. “Yeah, that's okay.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm thinking that groups of people function much like a lion pride, and lots of animally instincts and stuff. Any suggestions will almost definitely be incorporated, and the next part in the series is gonna have some of the sex. So please, comment; it keeps me going!


End file.
